Longing To Break Free
by daydreamer299
Summary: Something happens to Troy. Will his friends be able to figure out what happened or won't they?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own High School Musical.

Longing To Break Free

Chapter One

"Finally!" Troy Bolton exclaimed, as he walked out of his last class of the day with his friends Jason Cross and Zeke Baylor, "I thought this day would never end!"

Jason looked at him and laughed, "Me either. I'm so happy that it's Friday!" He twirled around in the hallway.

"Yeah and tonight is going to be extra fun considering that it's Chad's surprise birthday party," Zeke suddenly said to them.

"Hey not so loud!" Troy glared at him. Zeke was speaking rather loudly about it. He looked around worriedly to make sure Chad wasn't near them. Luckily, he wasn't. Everyone had been planning a birthday party surprise for his friend Chad Danforth for weeks.

"Oh sorry," Zeke looked a little embarrassed; "I guess we don't want him accidentally hearing about it, do we?"

Troy grinned, "Nope! So far we're doing a great job keeping it a secret. It's only a few hours away and I'd like to keep it that way!"

"I bet its killing you not to tell him, considering you're his best friend," Jason smiled at Troy.

"Killing me? Nope! It's not a problem at all!" Troy lied. The truth was it had been rather difficult the last few weeks to keep it a secret from Chad, considering he spent a lot of time with him.

"Yeah, whatever," Jason slapped him playfully on the back.

Troy however ignored Jason and suddenly started looking around for some one else, "Okay guys, I need to go find that beautiful girlfriend of mine and confirm our plans for tonight. I will meet you guys in a few minutes though for a quick ballgame."

"Sounds good Troy, see you later!" Zeke quickly said goodbye to him.

He then finally spotted his girlfriend Gabriella Montez waiting for him at his locker. He raced up to her, excited to see her.

"Hey!" He exclaimed.

"Hey Troy!" Gabriella smiled up at him, "So have you or anyone else blabbed this secret to Chad yet?"

"Not yet," Troy grinned back at her as he quickly put his books away in his locker. He didn't have any homework tonight, so he didn't need to bring much home with him for the weekend. "It's getting hard though. Good thing we only have a few more hours."

"Oh! I just can't wait! It's been awhile since you and I have been to a party where we danced the night away!" Gabriella jumped up and down as she spoke.

Troy closed his locker and leaned against it. He looked at her, "I can't wait either. In fact, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Troy told her, before leaning in to kiss her on the lips. They kissed for a couple of minutes before pulling away.

"So what time?" Gabriella asked anxiously.

"Well, we need to be there by six thirty I think, so how about I walk over to your place and meet you at six. We'll walk over together."

"That sounds wonderful!" Gabriella flung her arms around him and they both leaned in for another kiss.

He quickly parted, however, and glanced at his watch, "I really hate to leave you right now, Gabi, but I told the guys I'd meet them for a quick game."

Gabriella looked at him and nodded, "I don't mind you leaving me now, but only because I know we have the night to look forward to."

"Six o'clock, right?" Troy repeated the time to make sure.

She nodded and suddenly went, "Sounds perfect!"

"I know it will be perfect tonight," Troy gazed into her eyes as he spoke. He quickly kissed her one more time, but it was more difficult to part away from her this time. They finally did and Troy quickly started to turn towards the door, "I love you!" he shouted, as he walked away.

"Love you!" Gabriella called after him, as she watched him leave. She leaned against the lockers and smiled. He was suddenly gone. She already missed him even if he had only been gone for a few moments, but she wasn't to sad knowing that there was tonight to look forward to.

* * *

It was 4:30, but Gabriella was already pretty much ready to go. She knew she had another hour and a half before Troy arrived, but she wanted to shower as soon as she got home from school, and she started trying on her clothes right away. She wounded up choosing a black skirt with a light purple long sleeve shirt. However, this was possibly the fifth outfit she had tried on before deciding what to wear.

As she sat at her kitchen table she studied the simple silver ring that Troy had won her at a fair about a month ago. It was simple and inexpensive looking considering he had won it as a prize, but it meant the world to her. Since that night, it had remained on her finger and she never took it off. She had also won him a prize that night, which was a silver chain necklace. He always hung it around his neck and rarely took it off either. It was so they could always be close to each other and always have something to remind them of each other when they weren't with each other.

It was hard to believe that they had gotten that close within a year, but she hated it if she went even a day without seeing him. She was constantly with him lately and most of the time she couldn't stop thinking or dreaming of him.

Suddenly she could hear her cell phone ring and she immediately picked it up to answer. She was curious who it was as she doubted it was Troy considering he was out with the team.

"Hey Gabriella!" her friend Taylor McKessie suddenly spoke into the phone and she jumped a little in surprise.

"Hey!" Gabriella spoke into the phone, "Are you getting ready for your boyfriends surprise tonight?" Taylor had been dating Chad for the past few months and the party was at her place tonight.

"That's what I'm calling about! I'm flipping out Gabi!" Taylor exclaimed, "I know I said that I told you I didn't need help, but would you mind coming over and helping me with decorations? I tried calling Kelsi and she wasn't home, so I thought I would try you. Will you please come?"

"Now?" Gabriella hesitated, looking up at the clock on the wall, "But Troy told me he'd walk with me later. I don't know..."

"I'm sorry you won't be able to walk with Troy, but please, I really need your help and you're so good at this stuff! Could you just call Troy and tell him to meet you here? Please?"

Gabriella frowned. She was honestly really looking forward to seeing Troy before the party and walking with him, but could tell Taylor really needed her help. She supposed she could get a message to Troy about why she had to go early. "Okay," Gabriella agreed, "I will be there in about ten minutes."

"Oh, thank you!" Taylor happily thanked her, "You don't know how much this means to me! Okay, I will see you in a few! Bye!" Taylor quickly hung up and Gabriella hung the phone up feeling a bit disappointed. She was really looking forward to walking with Troy, but she supposed meeting him there would be okay.

Gabriella quickly dialed Troy's cell, but to her surprise it wasn't going through. She tried again and got the same reaction. Troy must not have charged his phone which was unusual. She would have to tell him later at the party. Quickly, she found a pad of paper and pen. She quickly wrote down that she had to go early to help Taylor and that she was sorry but asked if he would meet her at Taylor's later. She grabbed some tape and walked up to tape it to the front door where he would be sure to see it. After that she turned to lock the door and started to walk away, looking back to make sure the note was still there. He'd definitely see it there and come and meet her at the party later. She was certain that would work out okay.

* * *

After playing a quick game with the guys Troy had gone home, showered, quickly said goodbye to his father and was now heading over to Gabriella's.

Even though he just saw her a few hours ago, he could hardly wait to see her. When he wasn't with her it just felt like forever till the next time he saw her.

Troy suddenly stepped onto Gabriella's driveway and looked at the house. He frowned suddenly as he noticed it looked like there weren't any lights on inside the house. Curiously, he inched up closer to her doorstep. He was about to ring the doorbell when he noticed a note. He immediately recognized Gabriella's handwriting.

Hey Troy! Tried to get a hold of you on your cell, but it's not working. Taylor really wanted my help, so I had to leave early. I am so sorry that we can't walk together but will you meet me at Taylor's? See you there!

Love, Gabriella

"What?" Troy frowned, feeling somewhat disappointed. He was really looking to see Gabriella before the party. Now he'd just have to wait longer till he saw her.

"I guess she's worth the wait." Troy sighed as he pulled away from the house and started walking.

Suddenly he thought about what she had said about his cell not working. He quickly pulled it out and tried to turn it on, but nothing happened. "That's odd, I always charge my phone. Sure would have saved me the trip coming over here if I had this time." Troy then placed it back into his pocket.

He had to admit that even though he really missed Gabriella on his walk it was rather nice out. It was a little bit cold out, but it felt good. He suddenly started to sing breaking free in his head. He was so caught up in singing the song he sang with Gabriella that he was caught by complete surprise when he suddenly felt someone grab him from behind.

He jumped in fright and started to scream but he felt a hand cover his mouth and his screaming quickly became muffled. He struggled to fight whoever was doing this to him, but it was no use. Suddenly though he froze and stopped fighting back, feeling petrified as he felt something get pointed against his back. He had a very bad feeling he knew what that something was and that was a gun.


	2. Chapter 2

Longing to Break Free

Chapter Two

6:50.

Gabriella couldn't help but keep gazing at the clock. Troy was late. Sure, he wasn't that late, but still that didn't stop her from having a worried feeling form in her stomach.

She had been hanging out by herself for a few minutes. Music was blasting and the place was decorated for a party. She wasn't really in the mood for a party at the moment though. She watched as all the party guests strolled into the room, mostly just students from East High.

So far she did not see a sign of Troy anywhere. And why did that worry her so much? Did he not get the note? Did he possibly go up to her balcony rather then the front door? Was he still at her house wondering where she was at? Or had something else happened?

Something else. Somehow, she couldn't help but wonder if something else did happen. She didn't want to think about what the something else was.

Because that was the feeling that she felt right now, was that something did happen. And that something wasn't good.

6:53. Chad would be here any second now. But where was Troy? Troy had been talking for a few weeks already about surprising his best friend on his birthday and the fact that he was not here bothered her. It bothered her a lot. Something didn't feel right. She gazed around the room and spotted Jason hanging out by Ryan Evans. She wandered over to them.

"Hey guys!" She exclaimed. She was trying to sound somewhat cheerful. She tried to act as though nothing was bothering her.

"Hey Gabriella," Ryan smiled at her.

Jason looked at her in surprise, "Gabriella, I could have sworn that Troy said you two were coming here together. I was going to ask you about why he wasn't with you."

Gabriella swallowed. Why was it that that only made her worry more? "Well I came here early to help Taylor. I tried to leave him a message on his cell phone but he wouldn't answer. I left him a note at the house telling him I came early. He still hasn't shown though."

Jason gazed at her in concern, thought for a moment, and then relaxed, "I'm sure he's just late. He will be here before you know it."

Gabriella wanted to believe that but she wasn't so sure. But even so she didn't want to show how worried she was becoming just yet, "Right," She went brightly, "I'm sure he will get here."

Suddenly from the window she could hear Sharpay Evans cry out, "He's here! Chad just came! Everybody hide!"

Gabriella felt her heart sink. Chad was here and Troy wasn't. And knowing that Troy was going to miss surprising his best friend worried her. It was starting to worry her a great deal.

She just couldn't shake this feeling that something wasn't quite right with this.

* * *

Troy had gotten roughly thrown and trapped into the back of a van. After the man had pulled a gun on him earlier, he had dragged Troy around for awhile until he pulled him over towards a van. He had only looked at the van very briefly, and didn't at all see the man the entire time. It was difficult to do so considering a gun was held against him the whole time.

Now he found himself tightly tied up with rope, gagged, and blindfolded. He tried screaming but it was just pointless. He couldn't see a thing with the blindfold on. He had been absolutely terrified the entire time he had been trapped in here. It was freezing in here and horrifying knowing that he was stuck in here with no way out. Panic and fear overwhelmed him. He hated feeling so hopeless. He shifted uncomfortably. In this type of situation, it was rather difficult to get comfortable. The feeling underneath him as the van moved was rather bumpy. He moaned as every part of his body ached badly. The man had been somewhat rough on him as he struggled to escape earlier. It was terribly painful sitting here tied up in the back of the van hardly able to move.

He was absolutely just petrified. He had absolutely no clue who was doing this or why. Was it someone he knew? Someone he didn't know? It scared him to death not knowing who this was. He had no clue what was to become of him. What was even more frightening was he had no idea if he would ever escape this.

How long was he going to be trapped like this? For a long time? That thought made him struggle awhile more and he tried to bust out of the ropes somehow. He moved around as much as he could, but suddenly hit his head hard on the side of the van during his attempt to escape.

He groaned as he quickly slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Everyone else had started dancing around Taylor's living room but Gabriella sat on the couch. She was starting to worry like crazy.

Suddenly, she jumped up; she just couldn't stand it any longer. Troy should be here by now. And the fact that he wasn't told her something. Something bad had happened. She could feel it. Something had prevented him from coming to her and this party. There was no way Troy would of missed his best friends surprise party. Just this afternoon he had told her he wouldn't miss it for the world. So the fact that he wasn't here now like he said he would be really was starting to freak her out.

"Okay, where is he?" she suddenly heard Chad speak to her, it was the first time he had all evening. She jumped, looking at him nervously.

"I mean, you'd think he'd be here, he is my best friend after all," Chad continued, but stopped as he got a better look at Gabriella's face. He suddenly looked at her in concern, "Hey, what's wrong? You really don't look so good, Gabriella."

"He should be here. That is what's worrying me," Gabriella somehow managed to say, feeling nervous as she spoke to Chad.

"Why isn't he here?" Chad asked in sudden concern, "Did he have other plans or something?"

Gabriella shook her head; she could suddenly feel tears threatening to come out, "No. He was planning to come here. He was. He should be here. He should have been here awhile ago. I don't get why he's not." And with that she suddenly started crying.

"Hey what's wrong here?" Jason joined in, as he noticed the worried expressions on both Chad and Gabriella's face, "Why is she crying? And why hasn't Troy gotten here yet?"

"I'm worried something has happened to him," Gabriella suddenly burst out, through her tears, "I can't stay here any longer. I need to go and find him!" She started to head to the door, but Jason stopped her before she could.

"Wait a minute! I'll go look with you," Jason went quickly; "I don't think you should go looking by yourself!"

"I'll come to," Chad spoke up, "Something about this isn't right."

"But it's your party!" Jason told him, "You can't leave it. I'll go!"

"No I'm going," Chad went immediately, "She has me worried all of a sudden and i want to make sure that my best friend is okay. The three of us will go out and look for Troy, just let me tell Taylor that we'll be out for a while but we will be back."

Gabriella sighed and she looked at Jason, "I would have been okay by myself but I suppose it doesn't hurt having you come. I just hope we find him."

Chad suddenly came back, "I told Taylor we were leaving and she understood why. She also said she'd call us if Troy were to show up here later," He tried to smile, "Let's just hope that when we return Troy will be with us."

Gabriella looked at him and couldn't help but frown. Why did she want to really believe that would happen but for some reason she couldn't help but feel like things just wouldn't turn out that way?


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks everyone very much for the reviews!

Longing to Break Free

Chapter 3

He was not here. Gabriella wanted to cry as realization struck her a few minutes after she, Chad, and Jason had arrived at her house. They had looked around all over the house but it was obvious that Troy wasn't there at all.

Gabriella walked away from her house feeling rather depressed. Chad had suggested they go over to Troy's house and see if he had been there. Gabriella nodded in agreement, though she couldn't help but feel afraid that that still wouldn't help them find Troy. She just had such a bad feeling running through her for what felt like hours now. It was killing her not knowing where exactly he was.

They walked for awhile in silence. However Jason suddenly asked, "Hey, what's that?" he pointed to the ground ahead of them.

Gabriella followed his gaze, she wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to tell them, "What are we looking at Jas-" she stopped in mid sentence, she froze as she noticed something shiny laying on the ground. She raced over to pick it up. She let out a startled cry as she realized what it was.

It was the silver chain necklace she had given Troy earlier this year. She nearly stopped breathing when she realized it.

"Wait a minute, that's not what I think it is," Chad whispered, as he tried to look at it better.

Gabriella shakily held the necklace and suddenly the tears began to fall again, "His necklace that I gave him," She let out a cry, "He barely ever takes this off! Hardly ever!"

Jason looked away knowing that Gabriella was right. It felt like Troy always had that on these days. He nervously ran a hand through his hair. Something about this definitely didn't feel right to him. He couldn't help but feel worried about Troy.

"Gabriella, perhaps it just fell off..." Chad tried to say, though he didn't necessarily believe it himself. He felt himself secretly panicking inside. He knew Troy always had that necklace on lately and wouldn't just let it lay like that on the street. He swallowed nervously. This really gave him a bad feeling about this entire situation. And it killed him thinking something really could have happened to his friend.

"No!" Gabriella cried, fear in her voice, "Something happened. This is proof. He wouldn't just leave this here. He has obviously been here. Where is he at! Where is he?!" She was crying a river now, tears just flowing down her face uncontrollably. She just hated this. Not knowing where he was. And she couldn't stand seeing his necklace on the ground and not with him, wherever he was.

"Gabriella," Chad softly went, trying to remain calm, "Let's keep looking. Come on, let's head to the Boltons."

Gabriella nodded though she was still shaking and crying. She tightly held onto the necklace afraid to loose it again. She didn't want to let go of it. Jason wrapped his arms around her and Chad continued to walk next to them. Together, the three of them made there way to the Boltons hopeful that they would find something good there.

Yet none of them truly believed they would find anything good.

* * *

When Troy woke up he hurt like hell. His head was pounding horribly. His entire body was hurting so much because of this. And he had never felt more frightened in his entire life.

Troy let out a painful moan as he slowly opened his eyes, afraid to open them. He could immediately sense that things felt different and that made him feel terrified. He so wished this was some nightmare that he could wake up from. Yet he knew this was real and he was trapped here.

It had taken him a few seconds to adjust to his surroundings but he noticed that the blindfold had been removed. He was surprised to see that he could see again. However, the gag was still unfortunately there. He then realized something else. He was no longer trapped in the van but he was now tied up very tightly and securely to a chair. He could feel himself panicking like crazy. He tried to remain calm but it was impossible to do so. He desperately struggled a bit to free himself from the chair but soon discovered that the ropes were extremely tight and it was difficult to bust away from the chair. His whole body was shaking with fear now.

He fearfully looked around his new surroundings trying to figure out as to where exactly where he was. He suddenly observed that he was being held in a semi - large basement with no windows. Only one dim light hung from above. There was pretty much nothing in the room he was now trapped in and he also noticed that the door was locked. He looked hopelessly around the room as he came to the horrifying realization that there was pretty much no way out of this place.

He suddenly cursed at himself for having stupidly knocked himself out as one of the results was a killer headache. It also prevented him from estimating how long the man had had him in the van and it stopped him from having another chance of trying to escape.

He suddenly frantically tried to break away once more from the ropes, only to find it pointless. He soon gave up, helplessly, feeling close to tears.

He shut his eyes, closed them tightly, and then reopened them again. He wanted to cry so hard. Oh God, he desperately had to get out of here! It just felt so impossible! He was insanely frustrated by this and just didn't understand it. He couldn't stop panicking. He tried to calm down and think. Who was doing this to him and why? What was going to happen to him? Did anyone have a clue that this had even happened to him? Surely his friends realized something must have happened when he didn't arrive at Chad's party. Considering he had gotten knocked out he had no clue how long he had been here but he knew the party was most likely over. His Gabriella must have been worrying like crazy when he never got there. She was probably beyond worried.

Gabriella! His heart ached to be with her. Somehow he just knew that she was probably very worried about him. He couldn't stand knowing that she was worrying over him. She knew that he was excited about Chad's party and wouldn't miss it for anything. Plus she knew he couldn't wait to spend most of the night with her. She had to know something was really wrong.

As he thought of Gabriella his eyes immediately looked down towards his neck. But his heart suddenly broke as he noticed something. It was gone. His necklace was gone. The one thing that was his only connection to Gabriella right now was gone. What the hell? He sighed in frustration as he realized he must have lost it during the attack. He only wished he still had it so he could feel connected to her in someway.

More than anything he wished that he could just break free from this awful place and be with her.

But what killed him the most was he had no idea if he would ever see her again.

* * *

Gabriella was extremely nervous for some reason as they finally reached the Bolton house. Oh, she just hoped and prayed he was here! It was driving her crazy that they hadn't found him yet. The three of them looked nervously at each other before walking up and all walked up to the doorway together.

Chad was the first one there and rang the doorbell.

The door swung open and Gabriella could see Troy's father, Jack Bolton standing inside the house. He looked up at the threesome in surprise, "Well hi Gabriella, Jason, and Chad!" He greeted them, but looked rather confused, "Why are you guys here? I thought you had some sort of party tonight somewhere."

"We just left there," Gabriella somehow managed to find her voice, "We are looking for Troy. You haven't seen him by chance have you?" She asked hopefully yet she was starting to feel a little afraid by the confused look on Jack's face.

"But Troy has been with you three all night I thought," Jack told them, Gabriella's heart broke as he said that, and she could see that Chad looked upset and frustrated as he said that to them. Jason was being rather quiet and didn't say anything.

"We," Chad stuttered, "We haven't seen Troy since about four o'clock, Coach. We were getting a little worried about him and thought we'd see if he had been here at all." Chad explained.

Jack frowned at them suddenly, "You mean he never went to the party? That's not right. I saw him last at about five-thirty and he told me he couldn't wait to go pick up Gabriella and head over to Taylor's. He looked really excited about it. And you're telling me he never made it? That was over a few hours ago!" Jack started to look at them with a worried expression written on his face now.

Gabriella couldn't stand seeing Jack starting to worry now also. It was absolutely killing her. Oh God, something bad had happened to Troy. She could just feel it. She only wished she knew what. Where in the world was her Troy? And why did it feel so impossible to figure out were he was?


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks everyone for all of the reviews! Really loved getting them all!

Longing to Break Free

Chapter 4

"Nothing?" Jack had questioned Chad and Gabriella as they stepped back into his house. He had a bad feeling by the looks on their faces that they hadn't come up with a thing, like everyone else had so far. They had just returned back to the Boltons after a few hours of searching for Troy.

Gabriella and Chad looked at each other then sadly looked at Jack Bolton and his wife, Laura. They then looked over at Kelsi and Jason who were standing next to them. Gabriella looked back at the Boltons and shook her head, "We went back to where we found the necklace. We thought maybe we might be able to find something there. We thought we might have missed something. And we looked more around the area of my house. We came up with nothing," Gabriella filled them in. She just hated that the information she gave them was no good. She looked at the rest of the group that stood in the room with them, "How about all of you?"

"Jason and I have looked everywhere we can think of," Kelsi let out a sigh, "He just seems to be nowhere. I don't understand this! It really worries me! I Hope the rest of the group has more luck then we all have had but I'm beginning to loose faith in this."

The rest of the group included Taylor, Zeke, Ryan and Sharpay. Taylor had closed the party quickly after Chad had called her explaining that they were getting really worried about Troy. Everyone else arrived at the Boltons within a few minutes after he called her and before they knew it they were all looking for Troy like crazy. Everyone agreed that it wasn't like Troy at all to miss his best friends surprise party and wanted to help find him. The groups had quickly divided up into a few pairs and were looking everywhere. And so far it appeared that no one had come up with a thing.

Jack nervously ran a hand through his hair; this was frustrating the hell out of him. Why was it so incredibly difficult to finding his son? Why was this scaring him to death that they couldn't seem to find his son yet? This just wasn't like his son at all. It was breaking his heart that they had not found him yet. "I've been calling around," he quickly told the group, "I've been trying to think of any place he might be where I can call and see if anyone has seen him. So far I'm having no luck."

"What about the hospital?" Chad asked suddenly, even though he really didn't like the possibility. The idea had been in his head for awhile but he hadn't been wanting want to say it.

Jack shook his head, "I've tried there but there is no one there matching Troy's description. And I've just completely run out of places to call for right now."

Laura started pacing back and fourth, tears were starting to fall out, "Oh Jack! Where is our son? It's like he has vanished into thin air! I don't like this; I just don't like this at all! I want to find my boy!"

Jack immediately wrapped his arms around her, "I don't know honey, I just don't know. But I can guarantee I will give my all to find our son. And soon, I hope." He held onto his wife tightly but she pulled away.

"But what if we don't find him soon?" She looked desperately at him. She just needed to know where her son was. She could just feel in her heart that something had happened to her son and she didn't like the bad feeling she was feeling at all.

No one wanted to respond after she asked that question; they just all stared at each other, all wondering the same thing. What if something really bad had happened to Troy and it would be awhile before they found him? What if they couldn't find him at all? And none of them liked that thought.

Jack swallowed hard, was about to respond, but suddenly the door burst open, and Taylor and Zeke came in. They were about to speak to the group when suddenly Chad's cell phone rang. He quickly reached for it and then answered it after a couple of rings; "Hello?" he went quickly into the phone.

"Chad, hey man, any luck?" It was Ryan who was speaking to him.

"Hey Ryan," Chad looked at the eyes watching him as he spoke to Ryan on the phone, "No we have had no leads yet, have you and Sharpay found anything?" He asked hopefully, for they were the last part of the group out at the moment.

"I'm sorry but we aren't having much luck either," Ryan went sadly, "I really wish I had better news and could tell you we knew where Troy was," Chad could feel his heart sink. He just felt angry that even though everyone seemed to be searching they still couldn't seem to find his best friend anywhere.

"Damn." Chad swore out loud suddenly, feeling very disappointed, "Ryan, we are all at the house. You are the last ones still out at the moment."

"Okay, well we might still look a little longer then," Ryan told him.

"Okay, good luck Ryan." Chad nodded, he frustratingly shut the phone off, he looked at everyone, "Obviously you probably could tell they haven't found him either."

"And neither have we," Zeke spoke up. Chad gazed at Taylor and she just nodded. He could tell both of them had concerned looks on their faces as well now and he sighed.

Gabriella gazed from Zeke to Chad and suddenly let out a frustrated cry, "What in the hell has happened to him! Is he hurt somewhere? Was he in an accident? Lying in a ditch somewhere? I just don't get this! Why can't any of us find him?!" So many possibilities ran through her head at the moment about what could have happened and she just absolutely hated the thought of any of them happening. God she so desperately wanted to find him right now and make sure he was okay so she could stop thinking about all of these terrible thoughts. She just wanted Troy to be okay more than anything.

Jason suddenly ran up to Gabriella and hugged her tightly, she collapsed against him, tears just streaming down her face now, "Hey, hey," he whispered, "It's going to be okay. We will find him!" he tried to reassure her as he looked helplessly around the room at the rest of the group.

Jack just couldn't stand it anymore. It was all starting to get to him and he was desperate to do something. He paced around the floor for awhile, and then stared at the phone ahead of him. He then immediately decided he had to do something that he dreaded and hated having to do. He looked at the group, and they all looked back at him, as he picked up the phone. He gazed directly at all of them as he suddenly went, "I really wish I didn't have to do this, but I'm calling the police."

* * *

Troy wanted so badly to scream as loud as he could for help and simply couldn't stand that he couldn't because he was currently gagged. The gag was starting to really get on his nerves, as were the extremely tight ropes that bound him to the chair.

It was just driving him mad that he had been trapped down here for who knew how long and he had no idea how much longer he would be held here. Even worse, no one had any clue where he was. And how in the hell were they supposed to find him in this place? He didn't even know where he was! He strongly felt that it was up to him to get away from here but he was simply having no luck at all. He had tried so many attempts with busting away from the ropes but so far it was just impossible for him to accomplish. He was worn out from the exhaustion of spending the last few hours constantly trying to escape. Yet he knew he couldn't give up what little hope he had at the moment and had to keep trying.

What was also frustrating him was that he had no idea if it was day or night. He had no way of being able to look outside. He had no way to tell if the sun was up or not or if it was dark out. He had no idea knowing just how long he had been knocked out and that messed up him knowing how long exactly he had been trapped here. For all he knew, he could have been knocked out for a couple of hours or he could have been knocked out for a lot longer. All he knew was he felt like he had been in this basement for eternity and he felt like this would never end.

Suddenly he could feel his stomach rumble and he let out a painful groan. He had not eaten at all since he had had lunch earlier that day. He had been so incredibly busy after school that he had had no time to grab anything to eat. He completely regretted not having done so now. Plus he figured that he would be eating like crazy at Chad's party, like he should have been, rather then being stuck here. He felt the hunger pangs in his stomach and began to wonder if the man was ever planning to feed him. He wondered how long it would be before he would. And even if he did feed him, did he really want to take food from the man who kidnapped him? What if it was poisonous? He then couldn't help but wonder if he was just planning on him starving to death, as much as he hated that idea.

He also wondered if the man was ever going to show himself again or was he trapped down here alone for days waiting till death slowly and painfully took him over.

Suddenly however, he immediately lifted his head up to look at the top of the stairs, feeling rather startled, for he soon could hear the sound of footsteps coming from behind the door. He fearfully looked at the door in alarm. His entire body was trembling as he waited for something to happen.

He gazed up at the door in wide eyed terror as it slowly started to crack open.


	5. Chapter 5

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Longing to Break Free

Chapter 5

He gazed up, wide eyed; his heart pounded as the man slowly wandered down the staircase.

His heart sank though as he quickly realized that the man had a black mask on. He was also dressed in black pretty much from head to toe. He still couldn't figure out who he was.

He finally hit the bottom of the floor and was now just inches from Troy. He was then in front of him; his eyes were focused on Troy. Troy suddenly realized the man was holding a gun, which was now pointed towards him. Troy eyed the man, he was completely frightened.

"Well, well," the man finally spoke, "I see we have finally woken up."

Troy felt a wave of disappointment as he hadn't recognized the voice that was coming from the man. This was his first time hearing his voice and it hadn't registered to him that it was someone he knew. He was hoping that hearing his voice might help him figure this out. That thought terrified him that this was someone he didn't know. But he had a very bad feeling that was the case.

The man laughed at Troy. He then nodded toward to the gun and looked at Troy, "You're probably wondering if I'm going to kill you. Maybe. I probably will eventually." He filled Troy in.

Troy looked at the man in terror. He couldn't help but feel extremely confused. He tried to cry out, hoping to convince the man to take off his gag.

"Oh alright," the man went, "I will take the gag off but not for very long. Don't try anything like screaming for help. Remember, I'm the one in control here, so don't try anything stupid or else." Finally, the gag was removed. It was relieving to not have to feel it after having it on for what felt like forever. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Who are you?" he immediately demanded to know, "Why are you doing this?"

The man gave him a wickedly looking grin, "So stupid to be asking those questions. I told you not to do anything or you will get it," He suddenly raised his arm, and slapped Troy extremely hard in the face, causing Troy to cry out in pain. He slowly looked back up at the man.

"Oh that is nothing boy," the man looked at him directly in the eye, "That will feel like nothing once I'm through with you," This caused Troy to shake in fear; he wasn't enjoying the sound of this at all.

"I will however answer your questions somewhat and assure you that you don't know me. I am holding you for revenge. But that is all you need to know."

"Your crazy," He boldly spat out to the man, "If you think that-" his eyes widened as the man lifted his hand again towards his face and he felt a few more hard slaps. Troy could feel blood trickling down his face. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain as every blow hurt badly. He opened his eyes and looked up at him in anger.

"I am getting tired of your voice," The man had picked up the gag and was holding it in his hands, playing with it, "I think it's time to put this back on," He cringed as he felt the man tightly tie the gag behind his head. He then pulled away from Troy.

He made his way towards the staircase, he started walking up the steps, but turned back to look at Troy, "I have to go, but will be back for more, later," he then laughed as he opened the door, stepped out, and locked it behind him.

* * *

It had been the longest and the worst weekend of Gabriella's life.

It had been over forty eight hours since Chad's surprise party and over forty eight hours since anyone had seen or heard from Troy. It was as if he had just vanished. Everyone had been searching all weekend long, including the police, and still nobody could find him. What had happened to her Troy? Not knowing where he was the worst feeling ever. And she couldn't stand that she still didn't know.

She was now walking into East High. She had begged to not go today. But her mother insisted she get out and try and keep her mind productive. She needed her to get out instead of constantly worrying about Troy which is what she had been doing all weekend. She knew it wouldn't help going to school, that she wouldn't be able to focus on any of her classes. She would still be mostly worried sick about Troy and she knew it was all she was going to think about all day. How could she possibly focus on her classes when Troy could be off hurt somewhere or even worse?

She suddenly found herself directly in front of Troy's locker. She blinked. She then couldn't help but stare long and hard at it, for a very long time. It was hard to believe that it had been over forty eight hours ago since she last saw Troy by his locker. This had been the last place she had seen him. They had been so happy then. She remembered how he told her couldn't wait for the party that night and how he couldn't wait to spend time with her. It was hard to believe all that had happened in the past forty eight hours and that Troy was now just missing. It just wasn't fair. They should have had a wonderful night and instead it all had gone horribly wrong.

"I just can't believe this about Troy," she could hear Martha Cox say from a distance, "Gosh, Kels. I really hope they find him." She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard that.

She could suddenly feel a tap on her shoulder and she spun around. She looked up to see Taylor and Chad behind her.

"Hey guys," she greeted them, trying not to cry.

"Oh Gabi," Taylor reached over and hugged her friend tightly, "I wasn't sure if we would see you today here or not."

Gabriella pulled away from Taylor and she sighed, "I wanted to stay home but my mom pretty much forced me to come."

Chad nodded, "Maybe it's a good thing. It'll possibly keep your mind off all of this for awhile. I know that's unlikely but it's worth a shot at trying to be productive." he said even though it killed him having to be here as well and he wished more than anything he could be out doing something to help find Troy. He really couldn't believe his best friend was still missing.

"I just want to be out looking for him though, or doing something to help," Gabriellla quietly spoke.

Kelsi and Martha were suddenly next to them, along with Jason. Everyone greeted each other.

"I can't believe there hasn't been any clue all weekend as to where Troy is," Martha suddenly spoke up, "I hope someone finds him soon."

"I can't believe we haven't found him yet," Jason leaned against one of the lockers and sighed, "We've been searching everywhere." The group sadly looked at each other.

"Why haven't we found him yet?" Chad questioned, so many bad thoughts had been in his head all weekend about what could have happened to Troy and he hated the thought of any of them happening.

"Anything could have happened," Gabriella whispered, "I just hate all of this!"

"I just wish the police would find him sooner, it's been days!" Chad went suddenly, and the whole group went quiet at that comment.

"I hope they find him sometime today," Kelsi said, "I just want to make sure he's okay! It's killing me not knowing if he is."

"Yeah," Gabriella sighed, not sure if she believed they would find him today even, even though that was what she wanted more than anything in the world, but she was honestly beginning to loose hope. She held out her cell phone and stared at it, "The Boltons swore they would call me the second anything were to happen." she told the group.

"Let's hope they do," Taylor spoke hopefully; she then looked at the group, "Because it's just horrible not knowing what happened to Troy."

The whole group fell silent for a minute, all of them not sure what to say. They were all just way too worried about their friend who was nowhere to be found. Suddenly the bell rang, warning them to all get to class. The group of friends all looked at each other. None of them were sure if they could get through the day when they still didn't know what had happened to Troy.

"Let's all head to homeroom together," Jason suggested to all of his friends and they all nodded.

As they walked together all of them wished that they could find their missing friend.

They also all wished more than anything that he was here with them right now.


	6. Chapter 6

Longing to Break Free

Chapter 6

The hunger pangs in his stomach had only gotten worse. He had had been given no food or water at all down here. He groaned. He needed something to eat. He needed water. However he couldn't seem to get any of that and he couldn't do a thing about it.

One thing he absolutely hated while he was tied to the chair was feeling so defenseless. He couldn't do a thing to defend himself. The man had only been down here a few times since the first night here but every time he came down here it felt like he got constantly beaten. Several bruises were forming on his body from being hit so many times over the last few days. His whole body ached in pain. The man had cut him a few times with a small knife. And he hated that he couldn't stop him from doing so.

He hated being here. More than anything he just wanted to go home. He wondered how everyone back home was doing. He knew they were probably all worried about him like crazy. His parents had to be frantic. His friends were all probably concerned. And he couldn't imagine how Gabriella must be feeling right now. He hated making everyone have to worry about him like this. He just wished he could be home with them.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Troy immediately glanced up. He was surprised to see that the man was carrying a water bottle. He eyed the water bottle longingly. Water sounded heavenly to him, but he wasn't sure how much he wanted to take water from this man. Who knows what he could have done with it.

The man was soon next to him, he now pulled out another object, which was a gun. He held the water bottle up but pointed the gun at Troy, "I decided I need to keep you alive for awhile yet so I decided I better give you some water. You probably really want some don't you?"

Troy nodded, feeling extremely thirsty. He desperately wanted water.

"Just remember," he spoke coldly to Troy, "I'm the one with the gun. Don't do anything stupid or else." He held the water bottle to his side as he took Troy's gag off. Troy took a deep breath as it was the first time in a couple of days since he had taken off the gag.

The man held the water bottle up to Troy's mouth and he sucked on it very thirstily. He quickly drank the entire bottle.

"Well," the man snickered, "Aren't you going to thank me for giving you water?"

Troy stared at him in disbelief, "Thank you? Are you kidding me? After all that you have done to me you want me to thank you? I could never thank you. I freaking hate you-"

"Shut up!" the man angrily went, interrupting Troy. He suddenly pointed the gun directly against Troy's stomach. Troy froze in fear.

"I told you not to do anything, or else," the man kept the gun against Troy, "You will be sorry if you do, you got that?"

Troy swallowed hard and nodded.

The man smiled as he pulled the gun away. Troy was still frozen in fear.

"Now," the man looked at Troy, "I need to leave again but when I get back we will have so much fun," He suddenly grabbed the gag and put it back on Troy. Troy watched as the man walked back up the stairs and opened the door. He slammed the door and locked it.

Fun? Troy wondered what he meant by that. All he knew was he knew he was pretty certain he wasn't going to like it at all. He looked around frantically, desperate to get out of here. But there was just no way out. He sighed in absolute frustration.

He then did about the only thing he could do, and that was pray.

* * *

Jack closed the door behind him; he had just gotten back from a very long run outside. 

He had desperately needed to get out of the house for awhile and desperately needed to try to figure out what could have happened to his son.

It drove him mad thinking his son had been missing for almost three days now and they still hadn't been able to find him. Where in the hell was he? He badly wanted to know what had happened to his son and it broke his heart not knowing.

"Jack!" he heard a sudden cry from living room. He ran inside and found his wife who looked like she had been crying and shaking.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he raced up to her, "Is it Troy? Did something happen?" he pulled her close to him and hugged her rather tightly.

"That's just it," Laura was sobbing, "I don't know what has happened to our baby! Yet I feel like something really bad has happened. I just feel like he's in so much trouble, Jack! I feel like he's really hurt somewhere. And I can't stand not knowing where he is! Where is he at? Where is our boy, Jack?"

Jack closed his eyes, as he held onto his wife, "I don't know Laura, I just don't know. But I really wish I did."

"This is my worst nightmare. Not knowing what has happened to our boy, Jack!" Laura was crying hysterically now as she held onto him.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jack whispered, "Our son is going to be okay. We will find him. I swear it," He couldn't help but feel the exact same way. This was his worst nightmare as well. He just wished that they could find his son and end this nightmare.

Yet they have were just having no luck at finding his son at all.

And he absolutely hated it.

* * *

Finally! 

Troy had never felt so relieved as he had finally managed to start untying the ropes that were tied around his wrists. By some miracle he had finally loosened the ropes somewhat. He felt as if he had been desperately trying to do so for days. Suddenly his hands were free. He then started to work on the rest of the ropes that secured him to the chair. He quickly took the gag off. Before he knew it he only had to undo the ropes securing his legs to the chair. He anxiously started to untie those.

And suddenly, he was no longer tied to the chair. Oh, thank God! He leaped off of the chair, but gasped as he stood up. He couldn't believe how dizzy and shaky he felt. He held onto the chair to steady himself. He took a few deep breaths. He gave himself a minute before doing anything else.

He wearily looked up at the top of the stairs. The door at the top seemed so far away, considering he felt so incredibly weak all of a sudden. But he knew he had to make it up there and break free from here.

He slowly pulled away from the chair. He needed to get out of here. He still felt dizzy but did his best to try and control himself. He ignored the pain he felt. He then started to make his way towards the steps. He couldn't help but feel nervous. He was so afraid of getting caught. But he soon slowly started working his way up the steps with nothing but determination to get out of this basement.

He had to get out. He just had to.

He just had to escape from this horrible place and get back to his Gabriella.


	7. Chapter 7

Longing To Break Free

Chapter 7

Troy's hands were shaking badly as he struggled to open the door. Earlier he had come all the way up here before he remembered that the door was locked. He frantically had tried to get it open only to not succeed. He then made his way back down the steps to look for something to pick the lock with. He had amazingly managed to find a pin on the basement floor and quickly thought to use it to try and pick the lock. He had gone back up to the top of the steps only to find that he was still having difficulties with opening the door.

He just had to break out of here! He was terrified though of what could happen if the man were on the other side of the door once he opened it. He had no clue if he was or not. But he knew he had to risk it. He had gotten this far and he just had to get out.

"Oh, come on!" he thought, feeling rather anxious and desperate, "Please just open up already!"

Suddenly he could hear a click. He could feel a big wave of relief rush through him as the door quickly opened. He wanted to jump up and down with joy but knew he had to be quiet.

He quietly crept out of the basement, had taken about ten steps, when he heard footsteps behind him.

He froze in absolute fear.

Damn! He knew the man was now behind him and he had been caught. He could hear the man moving much closer to him.

"One more step away from the basement and I swear to God I will shoot you," the man threatened, sending chills down his spine, "Now turn around."

Troy was way too frightened to move.

"Turn around, damn it!" the man demanded.

Troy trembled as he turned around and looked up to face the man, who was pointing the gun at him. He looked extremely mad. He was now only a few feet from Troy. Suddenly he lifted up his arm that wasn't holding the gun and aimed it towards Troy's face. He angrily punched Troy a few times, causing Troy to let out a few painful cries.

Troy was hit extremely hard however with the third punch, and he fell and hit the hard floor below him. The next thing he knew his world went black.

* * *

Another day had rolled by and they still couldn't find Troy.

Gabriella just couldn't take it anymore. She had just stormed out of her sixth period English class during the middle of it. She never left class in the middle of it like that. English was one of the classes she shared with Troy. He sat near her in that class. She was just so tired of staring at Troy's seat, wishing that he were sitting there. She had to get out of that class. She leaned against one of the lockers completely exhausted, in tears.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around to see who it was that was bothering her. She looked up to see a very concerned Chad next to her.

"Chad, I know I shouldn't have just left like that, I was just getting way to frustrated being in that class," She quickly tried to explain herself. She brushed a few tears away from her face.

"I understand," Chad spoke to her, "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. I know it is tough being here when Troy isn't. It's been rough on me all day as well."

"It is horrible being here when Troy isn't," Gabriella suddenly cried out, "I'm just so tired of walking around the school wishing Troy were here. He should be, Chad! I just can't stand that he isn't!" She started to run towards the door, "I am sorry but I have to get out of here. It's driving me crazy being in this school all day-"

"Wait!" Chad raced up to her, really not wanting Gabriella to be alone at the moment, "Let's get out of here, together, okay? I don't want you to be alone right now."

He looked at her with worry in his eyes.

Gabriella glanced back at him, and stopped for a few seconds, "Okay then, let's go. Let's please just get out of this place. I just can't be here anymore!"

Chad nodded and the two of them left the building together.

* * *

Chad and Gabriella had somehow wounded up at a fast food restaurant and were now wandering out of it together. They had ordered extra food to take home to take to the Boltons and were carrying take out bags. Gabriella was getting really anxious to get to the Boltons to see if they had any news on Troy.

They were heading towards Chad's car when Chad bumped directly into someone, causing the person to trip somewhat. Gabriella continued walking further, but stopped to look back to watch the scene behind her.

Chad looked up, startled, and saw a man he didn't know glaring at him.

"Watch the hell where you are going," he growled at Chad and then he quickly turned around to head into the restaurant. His voice sent shivers through Chad; he had spoken rather coldly to him.

"I'm sorry!" Chad tried to call out to him but he was already gone. He suddenly noticed something on the ground and realized the man he bumped into must have dropped it.

"Hey Gabriella, wait up!" Chad shouted, "That man dropped his-" he froze suddenly, as he looked more closely at the object that had been dropped on the ground. He bent down to pick it up. He gasped, this object looked rather familiar. His hands shook as he flipped the object over to the back, and he recognized familiar markings on it, confirming his suspicions. He looked up at Gabriella in shock.

"Oh my God," Gabriella froze as she eyed the object Chad was holding, she grabbed it from him to take a closer look at it, she flipped it open and then her eyes grew wide, "This is Troy's cell phone!"


	8. Chapter 8

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Longing To Break Free

Chapter 8

Troy let out a frustrated groan.

He was just so incredibly disappointed. He couldn't believe that he had come so close to breaking out of here only to have it all taken away from him in a matter of a few terrifying seconds. When he had woken up he had found that he was once again trapped in the basement. He was right back where he had started. He also soon discovered that the ropes were tighter and they seemed more complicated to get out of. He had gained a painful black eye during his escape attempt. New bruises were forming on his face as well. He was so insanely frustrated by all of this. He just hated that he had worked so hard to escape only to be stuck back down here.

He was also frustrated because he had completely lost track of time. He wasn't even sure exactly how long he had been down here. It had to have been a week at least, right? For all he knew, it could have been only a few days. He had honestly no clue how many days he had been trapped in this horrible situation. It was impossible to tell if it was day or night in this basement. That made it hard to keep track of the time. All he knew was he felt like he had been trapped down here forever.

He was seriously getting very worried that he'd never get out of here. He was seriously afraid that either the man was going to just quickly kill him or that he would die slowly and painfully. For all he knew he could just die of starvation as he hadn't eaten in days. Or would he just leave him here for a very long time? He honestly had no idea what his fate was and he hated that he did not know.

One thing he did know was that he was beginning to loose hope. A part of him was really beginning to believe that he'd never escape.

But he knew deep down that he could never give up trying to escape. He had to get out somehow. He just had to keep on believing that he would get out.

Yet it was getting very hard to believe that he ever would escape.

* * *

"Oh my God, Oh my God, " Gabriella kept repeating, her hands were shaking as she held onto Troy's cell phone, "What in the world is Troy's cell phone doing here?" 

"I can't believe we found it here!" Chad looked up at Gabriella in shock. He looked back at the phone in disbelief. He then quickly glanced back at the restaurant. He remembered watching the man go into it a few minutes ago. He then frowned as he felt rather confused by it all, "An even better question is why in the hell did that man have Troy's cell phone?"

Gabriella suddenly froze. She gazed at Chad fearfully, "Oh God, Chad," she cried out, "Do you think that man has done something to Troy?" That thought was just absolutely terrifying to her. She felt sick to her stomach as she thought about all the horrible things this man could have done to Troy. Her heart was aching as she thought about what Troy could be going through right now. She felt very afraid for Troy.

Chad gazed at Gabriella in horror, "I don't know, but I have a bad feeling he might have done something to him," his voice was shaking as he spoke.

What in the hell could that man have done to Troy? And why would he? He shook his head in frustration. He had never seen that man before and didn't understand why he would do something to his best friend. He suddenly felt really angry and upset over this whole situation.

He frantically started looking around the parking lot. There were only a few cars besides his in the parking lot. His eyes fell on an odd looking black van. For some reason he couldn't seem to take his eyes off it as he started studying it like crazy from where he stood. Gabriella followed his gaze and she eyed the van that he was looking at.

"You think that van is his?" Gabriella questioned, her whole body was trembling. She couldn't help but feel suspicious that this was his van. She kept studying it as well.

"I have a feeling it is," Chad slowly nodded, his heart was racing. He had no idea what to do, but he felt like he just had to do something. He desperately had to know if this man did something to Troy. It was totally killing him not knowing if he had done something. And he had such a bad feeling that he did.

Gabriella was about to walk closer to the van when the man suddenly stepped out of the fast food restaurant, he was carrying a carry out bag. Chad and Gabriella jumped frantically and they both ran next to Chad's car which was close to them. Gabriella was shaking like crazy. They both gazed at each other very briefly.

"Get in my car," Chad mouthed to Gabriella and she quickly did just that. She immediately ran over to the left front door, opened it, and got in. Chad quickly got in as well. He was now in the driver seat; his heart was pounding as he kept his eyes focused on the man. The man then got in the black van which they suspected was his. He desperately started to try and memorize every detail of the van the best that he could. Suddenly though the man had started to drive away. He watched as the van started to drive further away.

Gabriella looked over at Chad for a moment, completely wide eyed, "What are we going to do?"

Chad had started his car and suddenly pulled his car out of the parking lot; the van was now a few cars ahead of him, but he was still desperately focusing on it, "Gabriella, we are going to follow that man."


	9. Chapter 9

Longing To Break Free

Chapter 9

It was five minutes later and they were still chasing after the van. They hadn't lost track of the van yet. Chad was so worried that they would loose track of him and they were so lucky that they hadn't yet.

"God, what could he possibly have done to Troy? Does he have him somewhere?" Gabriella questioned, her voice was trembling. She had broken the silence that had been going on for about a minute now, "It kills me not knowing if he has done something to him!"

Chad swallowed, he glanced briefly over at Gabriella but he immediately focused back on the van, "I don't know, but if he does have Troy somewhere or if he has done something to hurt him, I am going to kill him."

Gabriella looked over at Chad then let out a deep sigh. She nervously ran a hand through her hair. She was so frustrated by all of this. She just wanted to find Troy more than anything now.

"Call Jason or somebody," Chad suddenly suggested to her, "We might need some backup in case something happens," he quickly reached for his cell phone and tossed it to Gabriella, "Here you can use my phone."

Gabriella took the phone from Chad, she nervously laughed, "Good thing that you have your cell phone because I left mine back in the classroom with my books." It had occurred to her earlier she had done that by accident.

She was soon waiting for Jason to answer his phone.

"Hello?" Jason asked breathlessly.

"Hey, Jason, This is Gabriella," Gabriella spoke quickly into the phone.

"Gabriella!" Jason exclaimed, "Thank goodness you called! Are you okay? We were all worried after you left the classroom like that!"

"Yes, I'm okay," Gabriella nodded; she kept her eyes focused on the van as she spoke, "Chad is with me right now."

"I had a feeling that he might be," Jason told her, "I'm really relieved that you called! I will have to let everyone else know that-"

"Jason listen," she interrupted him rather quickly. She closed her eyes, then opened them again, "Chad and I found something earlier."

"Found something?" Jason sounded confused as he spoke, "Wait a minute! Does this have to do with Troy? Has something happened, Gabriella?"

"Chad and I found Troy's cell phone," Gabriella filled him in; she took a deep breath, "This man apparently had it. We found it after he had dropped it. Now we are chasing after him and-"

"His cell phone?" Jason gasped; his voice was suddenly filled with concern, "What in the world? Chasing after him! Are you sure that's safe? Gabriella, I don't know if that-"

"Jason please just listen to me!" Gabriella interrupted him again, "I need to tell you which direction we are headed, just in case something happens. We are headed towards-" she was almost finished with telling Jason the last of there directions so far when suddenly the phone went dead. She blankly stared at the phone, feeling a wave of disappointment run through her.

"Your battery died! I lost him," Gabriella frowned, "I didn't get a chance to finish the directions," she bit her lip as she looked over at Chad, who looked rather disappointed.

Chad continued to follow the van that was still ahead of them. He let out a deep sigh, "I guess we'll just have to pray then that everything works out okay."

* * *

A couple of minutes later the van had finally stopped in the driveway of a small white house. It had lots of trees surrounding it. Chad and Gabriella watched from a distance as the man got out the van. He then walked towards the house and he stepped inside; he had used the front door to get in. He had stepped out of there view. 

Chad and Gabriella glanced worriedly at each other. They were both wondering if Troy could be inside the house. And if he was, they both desperately wanted to get him out of there.

Chad finally decided to park his car behind a batch of trees that were near the house. His car was hidden somewhat. Chad and Gabriella both stepped out of Chad's car and ran towards a few trees and hid behind them. They had a fairly good view of the house. Neither of them were really sure what to do. Chad suddenly rested his arms against one of the trees and banged against them in frustration. He quickly backed away from the tree and looked back up at the house.

"Oh God, do you think Troy is in there?" Gabriella asked, she kept her eyes focused on the house as she spoke.

"I don't know, but I really wish I knew if he was or not," Chad paced back and fourth, and then looked back up at the house.

They both stood there quietly for a couple of minutes. Both of them had there thoughts on Troy. Both of them wanted to get inside the house and see if Troy was in there. Both of them badly wished that they could find Troy.

Suddenly the front door opened and both of them jumped up in alarm. The man was heading back out of the house. They watched as he stepped into his van and within a minute the man was driving out of the driveway. He was suddenly gone. Chad was rather surprised he had left so quickly. This was now there chance to get inside the house. Chad and Gabriella gazed at each other with wide eyes. Together, they ran towards the house. They made there way to the side door. Gabriella attempted to open it, and was rather shocked when it opened on the first attempt. She gazed up at Chad.

"Let's go in," Chad whispered to her. They both knew it was possibly unsafe but went in anyway. Gabriella nodded and she stepped inside, with Chad following her. They both felt extremely nervous as they entered the house.

There wasn't that much inside the house. There wasn't a lot of furniture. The two moved there way through a couple of rooms, only to come up with nothing. They both felt very disappointed that they were having no luck so far. Chad looked frantically around some more.

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon what looked like a locked door. He couldn't take his eyes off it. Somehow he knew that this was the door that would lead them to his best friend.

"Gabriella," he whispered, as he nodded towards the door. Gabriella's eyes fell on the door as well. She nearly stopped breathing as she gazed at it.

"Chad!" she cried, as she eyed the door, "This has to be it! I can feel it!" her hands shook as she desperately struggled to open the door. She was close to tears as she still couldn't get it open.Suddenly though, she could hear a click and the door opened. Her heart was pounding wildly as she desperately looked down the stairs.

Chad frantically looked down below him and suddenly his eyes grew very wide.

"Oh my God!" Gabriella gasped; her eyes had finally landed on who she loved more than anyone in the world, "Oh my God, Troy!"


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks everyone SO much for all of the reviews! I am loving them!

Longing To Break Free

Chapter 10

Jason was feeling incredibly worried. He had been worried ever since he had lost connection with Chad and Gabriella. He frantically looked around the hallway. He suddenly spotted who he wanted to find. He raced over to them and tapped Kelsi on the shoulder from behind. She was standing next to Ryan and Taylor.

"Whoa, Jason!" Kelsi jumped, feeling rather startled, "Hey!"

"Hey Jason!" Ryan smiled at him.

Taylor however looked at him in concern, "Okay, why do you look so worried?"

Kelsi also noticed and suddenly looked at him, "Yeah, what is wrong Jason?"

Jason took a deep breath before speaking, "I spoke to Gabriella," He quickly let them all know.

"Oh thank goodness!" Taylor sighed with relief, "I've been worried about her ever since she left the classroom. She left her books in there, I grabbed them for her. I've also been wondering about Chad since I think he ran off after her."

"He's with her," Jason assured her, then he continued, "But I'm really worried about both of them." Everyone looked at him in confusion, so he quickly filled him in with what he knew. He ended with the part where Chad's cell phone went dead and where he had lost connection with Gabriella.

"Why would that man have Troy's cell phone?" Kelsi eyed the rest of the group, "That's crazy!" She froze suddenly, then gasped, "Oh my God! Unless that man has done something to Troy."

"Yeah, but what could he have done to Troy?" Ryan questioned. He was feeling very confused. He also was feeling very worried.

Everybody looked worriedly at each other for a moment. They were all wondering what that man could of done to Troy and they all felt increasingly worried for there missing friend.

"What if that man caught Chad and Gabriella following him?" Taylor asked the group suddenly, she frowned. She just wasn't sure what to think about all of this. She just felt very concerned.

"That's why I've been really worried," Jason told the group, "I just hate that I have no idea what's going on."

Kelsi leaned against a locker and let out a frustrated sigh. She absolutely hated that they still didn't know exactly where Troy was or what had happened to him. Now she was also worried about Chad and Gabriella.

She gazed at the group with wide eyes, "Something tells me we need to figure out what happened to Chad and Gabriella," she took a deep breath, "And we need to figure that out fast."

* * *

Troy couldn't believe his eyes as they landed on the top of the steps. He blinked, he felt nothing but disbelief. Were Gabriella and Chad really standing there? How was it even possible that they had actually found him? He was absolutely shocked over it. He wasn't exactly sure how they were even there, but he had never felt so happy to see them in his life. 

"Oh my God, Troy!" Gabriella gasped as her eyes finally landed on him. Her eyes grew wide however once she saw what kind of condition he was in. He cringed, he hated that she had to see him tied to a chair, gagged, and beaten.

She was soon practically flying towards him, with Chad very closely behind.

"Troy!" Chad exclaimed with a shocked look his face. He could then tell his friend looked extremely worried, yet relieved, "I can't believe all of this! I can't believe we found you! Thank God we did find you!"

"Troy, are you okay?" Gabriella asked frantically, her eyes were flooded with concern. She was suddenly next to him, and she quickly removed the gag that was still on him. Chad was immediately untying the ropes that held him to the chair.

Troy looked up at them with wild eyes, "Gabriella! Chad! I can't believe you are both here! I am so happy to see both of you! How in the world did you find me?"

"I am just so happy we did finally find you! Thank God! We have been so worried about you!" Gabriella then eyed him as she struggled to untie some of the ropes.

"I accidentally bumped into that man, we figured things out from there and followed him and now here we are," Chad filled Troy in really quickly, he looked seriously at him for a moment, "Who is that man, Troy?"

"That's not important right now," Troy went; he gazed anxiously at the top of the stairs, "The important thing is getting the hell away from here before he catches us." He shivered at the thought of that man finding him with Chad and Gabriella. Who knew what the consequences could be if that happened. More than anything he didn't want to see Chad and Gabriella get hurt.

Finally, Gabriella had untied the last of the ropes. Troy had never felt so relieved. He immediately stood up and before he knew it Gabriella had wrapped her arms around him.

"Gabriella," he softly whispered, he held her close to him. God, it just felt so good to finally be in her arms again. He had wanted to be with her for what felt like forever. He never wanted to let go of her.

However, Gabriella pulled away from him suddenly. She looked up and down at him, "My God Troy! What has he done to you?"

"Hey, we have to get Troy the hell out of here," Chad interrupted them, suddenly. He gazed at Troy, "We know he left awhile ago but who knows when he may come back."

"Yes we have to get out of here and fast," Troy immediately agreed, but he suddenly winced in pain. Everything still ached.

Gabriella looked worriedly at him. Chad also noticed and immediately rushed to his side, "Here, lean on me, I'll help you up the steps, okay?" Troy nodded, as he leaned against his best friend and they started walking.

Together, the threesome made there way to the top of the steps. Gabriella pushed the door open and they finally stepped outside of the basement together. They were so close to freedom now.

"Come on," Gabriella led the way, "Let's get out of here." Getting out of here sounded so heavenly to Troy and he couldn't believe it was so close to happening this time.

Suddenly Troy let out a terrified scream as he felt himself get roughly yanked away from Chad and Gabriella. He squeezed his eyes shut as he could hear Chad screaming behind him.

Troy flinched; he looked up, fear was overwhelming him as he felt the man grab him again.

"Troy, No!" Gabriella cried out fearfully.

The man then turned to face Chad and Gabriella, he had his arm wrapped around Troy very tightly and he wouldn't let go. Troy panicked as it felt impossible to break away from him. His heart was racing like crazy.

Chad and Gabriella were both frozen, there eyes were both filled with horror as they looked up at him. He looked back at them in pure terror.

Suddenly a gun was pointed directly against Troy.

"How about nobody leaves," the man laughed rather evilly, "And if anyone even tries to, he dies."


	11. Chapter 11

Longing to Break Free

Chapter 11

Troy felt way too petrified as he eyed the gun that was pointed directly against him. The man still held onto him extremely tight. Troy felt like he almost couldn't breathe.

His eyes then drifted to Chad and Gabriella who both looked at him in absolute horror.

"Oh isn't this exciting!" the man laughed, "Two uninvited guests have come to join our fun little party!" He glared at Chad and Gabriella, "Now I need to figure out what exactly to do with them."

Troy's eyes grew wide. No, no, no! He couldn't stand that Chad and Gabriella had now gotten involved with this and that his kidnapper could hurt them at any moment. He couldn't let that man hurt them. He just couldn't. He had to protect them, somehow!

Chad and Gabriella remained frozen, as they were both too afraid to say or do anything.

"Don't hurt them," Troy finally managed to get out, but his voice was only a shaky whisper, "It's me you want, not them! Let them go!"

Chad had managed to find his voice somehow also, it was a little stronger than Troy's, "What are you going to do with us?" he felt terribly nervous as he spoke, "You can't just kidnap us. That's crazy!"

"It's either that or I kill the two of you," The man coldly spoke to Chad, still firmly holding the gun on Troy, "Which is probably what I should do, as I have absolutely no reason to keep you alive."

Troy felt extreme anger boil inside of him. More than anything he just wanted to kill that man right now.

His eyes locked with Gabriella at that moment, he noticed she was trembling really badly. He looked at her in terror. He couldn't stand the thought of his kidnapper killing her. He couldn't allow that to happen. He had to get her and Chad out of there somehow, yet it all just seemed so impossible! And that absolutely killed him. He almost didn't care what happened to himself; he just wanted Chad and Gabriella far away from this man and for them to be safe.

"How about we all move this party to the basement, and we'll figure things out from there," the man then laughed after he spoke. Horror waved through Troy as he felt the man start to drag him closer towards the basement.

No! He couldn't let him bring them all down there, who knew what he could do to them down there.

"Now move, damn it!" He yelled at Chad and Gabriella, causing them both to jump in fright. They both eyed Troy before doing anything. Troy looked helplessly at them.

"Come on now!" the man suddenly aimed the gun towards them, but he held on even tighter to Troy, "Move towards the basement, or I will shoot one of you right now!"

Chad flinched, but nodded as he started to walk back towards the basement with Gabriella right next to him. Chad held onto Gabriella as if he were trying to protect her.

They were now just only a few feet from the basement. Troy shook with fear. He just wished there was someway they could escape this but at the moment there was no way they could. He looked around desperately but could come up with nothing. God, he had to get them out of there somehow!

Troy then watched in fright as the man started to open the basement door. Chad and Gabriella were to the side of them, both remained unmoving. The man suddenly shoved Gabriella, causing her to stumble closer to the basement. Gabriella screamed as she stumbled.

"NO!" Troy suddenly screamed; anger rising in his voice as the man had touched his Gabriella, "Do NOT touch her!"

The man looked at Troy and just laughed, he suddenly shoved Gabriella again, this time however she lost her balance and knocked into the man, this caused him to suddenly loose his grip on Troy. Troy suddenly flew to the other side of the room, breaking free of the mans grasp finally.

He had also lost his hold of the gun which went flying the opposite direction of Troy. It flew far across the room. Gabriella and Chad both frantically jumped out of the way.

The man was very close to grabbing Troy again, when suddenly Chad had grabbed a chair from behind, he shoved it towards the man. The man tried to push the chair away from him but Chad kept shoving it at the man, he stumbled towards the basement steps. Suddenly the man lost his balance at the top of the stairs and started falling down.

Troy's eyes were very wide as he immediately thought to quickly lock the door to the basement. He frantically locked it, his heart was hammering against his chest.

As he frantically stepped away he could here a loud thud coming from the basement, and then all they heard was silence.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Troy gasped, his eyes grew even wider, he was wondering what that thud had meant. Yet he knew they didn't have any time to check. They desperately had to get away from here. He had to get Chad and Gabriella to safety.

He started to bolt towards the door.

He looked back at Chad and Gabriella to make sure they were okay, they were both shaking and Chad looked rather shocked. They both eyed him. He gazed worriedly at Gabriella, she nodded at him and they were soon racing very closely behind him.

They were suddenly next to the door that would lead them outside.

Troy quickly slid through the side door and suddenly felt his first breath of fresh air he had felt in days. It felt so heavenly being outside.

His feet hit the grass and he anxiously looked back to see Gabriella and Chad right behind him. He looked further behind them, terrified that the man might still sneak up from behind and catch them.

He felt a wave a relief run through him as he saw that they had all made it out.

He immediately grabbed a hold of Gabriella's hand and they ran.

They ran for their lives.


	12. Chapter 12

Longing To Break Free

Chapter 12

They were all still running as fast as they could go. They desperately had to get away from there.

"My car is hidden behind there," Chad spoke as he ran, "Head that way!" he instructed Troy and Gabriella. Troy briefly looked at him and nodded, he was still holding onto Gabriella's hand. He gazed nervously back at the house. He then looked at Gabriella and squeezed her hand tightly. He was just so relieved that they weren't being followed by his kidnapper. He was so relieved they were now free and they were all finally getting away from that house.

Gabriella gazed up as Troy squeezed her hand. There eyes met each others for a few moments and he smiled at her. She smiled back at him. She was just so happy that they had finally found him and managed to get him away from that man. She was happy they had all gotten away. She still couldn't believe that they had really found him.

Suddenly however she couldn't help but notice that Troy had let go of her hand and had started to slow down. She looked around feeling very concerned. He had stopped behind her and looked like he was desperately trying to catch his breath. She looked at him with worry in her eyes.

"Troy! Are you okay?" she gasped as she watched him; she immediately ran to his him, with Chad closely behind her.

"Troy, are you alright?" Chad asked worriedly.

Troy quickly nodded, he took a couple of deep breaths before he spoke, "I'm okay," he looked at them both, and they both looked back at him very doubtfully, "I'm okay as long as both of you are safe."

Gabriella frowned, "Troy, you really don't look-"

"Gabriella, I'm okay!" Troy quickly told her. He had taken about only a few steps when he suddenly started to collapse.

"Troy!" Gabriella gasped. She panicked; she quickly caught him just as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Jason and Kelsi were both frantically looking for Chad and Gabriella. The problem was they really weren't even sure where exactly to look. 

After they had left East High everyone had divided up and started looking for Chad and Gabriella. They had all started off at the last place Gabriella had instructed Jason to go to and then they all took off in separate directions from there, in hopes of finding them. Kelsi and Jason were in one car while Taylor and Ryan were in another. They had managed to catch up with Zeke and Sharpay really quickly and they were in another car looking for Chad and Gabriella.

And so far they had come up with nothing. And Jason was so insanely frustrated and worried by it.

"Oh, I just wish we could find them!" Kelsi said as she looked out the window. She let out a deep sigh. Jason glanced at her and could tell she looked really worried. She looked up at Jason anxiously, "Maybe we should call Zeke or Ryan and see if they have any updates."

Jason shook his head, "I'm sure they will call if something happens. Unfortunately I doubt anything has so far."

Suddenly, something caught Kelsi's eye and she gasped, "Oh my God, look!" She pointed to what she was looking at; Jason looked rather surprised when he saw what she was pointing at.

"Hey!" Jason exclaimed, "Isn't that Chad's car?" he felt relieved for a second, but then he frowned, "If that is Chad's car, where are Chad and Gabriella? They must be around here!"

Kelsi looked around and then her eyes grew very wide, "Over there!" She exclaimed. She swore she could see Chad behind a couple of trees.

Jason followed her gaze, and sure enough he could spot his friend. His eyes grew even wider as he saw who was next to him. He couldn't believe it. He really couldn't believe it. "Oh my God, they found Troy!" he gasped. He was so relieved to see that Chad and Gabriella had actually found Troy.

"Oh my God!" Kelsi looked incredibly stunned as she noticed Troy as well. She felt so happy to know that Troy had finally been found, "Oh my God! I can't believe they found him! Thank God!" she suddenly frowned however, "Jason, he doesn't look very good! Come on, we have to get over there and help them!"

Jason nodded as he immediately parked his car. A few seconds later they were racing towards Chad, Gabriella, and Troy.

"Chad!" Jason screamed, catching Chad's attention.

Chad looked up, looking very shocked to see Jason and Kelsi, yet he also had a relieved and panicked look on his face.

"Jason!" Chad exclaimed, "Thank God!"

"Kelsi!" Gabriella cried, "We found Troy!"

"I see that! I can't believe it either!" Kelsi exclaimed. She grew serious once she got next to them, "He doesn't look very good! What is wrong with him? Is he unconscious?" she gasped. She frowned as she studied Troy, "Where did you find him? Oh my God, what happened to him?"

"He's alive, but unconscious," Gabriella answered shakily, "He just passed out right before you got here. He still hasn't woken up."

"Oh God," Kelsi gasped, "I hope he will be okay!"

"Where was he?" Jason asked, studying Troy as well, he looked at him with deep concern.

"That man we were chasing kidnapped him," Chad quickly explained, his voice was a little shaky as he spoke, he kept his eyes on Troy, "We luckily managed to find Troy in that house," he nodded towards the house behind them, "and we just barely got away from the kidnapper."

"Oh my God!" Jason gasped, his eyes were wide, "Thank goodness you all got away! But how is he? He really doesn't look very good!"

Gabriella couldn't take her eyes off of Troy. A few tears fell down from her eyes, "Oh God, we really have to get him to the hospital!"

"We'll help you get him to the car," Jason went quickly, "And then we'll take him to the hospital."

Chad kept eyeing Troy. He nodded, "Let's hurry! We have to get him help and fast!"

Chad and Jason were soon carrying Troy towards Chad's car. Gabriella and Kelsi were right behind them. Gabriella watched them carry Troy with worry.

Gabriella felt relief run through her a couple of minutes later as they had gotten Troy in the car. They were starting to finally get him away from there.

Suddenly they were driving towards the hospital.

She just hoped that Troy would be okay.


	13. Chapter 13

Longing to Break Free

Chapter 13

Jack gazed longingly at the phone wishing that it would ring. He kept hoping it would ring and that he would finally receive good news on his son. More than anything he just wanted someone to tell him his son had been found. Yet it never happened.

He was about to give up and go do something else when suddenly the phone rang.

He immediately picked it up.

"Jack?" he recognized Chad's voice.

"Hey Chad," Jack closed his eyes as he spoke.

"Oh my God, Jack! You are not going to believe this, but we found Troy!" Chad quickly told him.

Jack's eyes immediately flew open and they grew very wide. Jack couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was in shock, "You what?" he gasped; he could feel a tear fall from his eye, "Oh my God, is he okay? Where… where was he?" he frantically started looking around for his wife, but couldn't find her anywhere near him.

"He… he was kidnapped. Gabriella and I found him," Chad explained, "We are not sure who did it."

Jack gasped. He had been afraid something like that might have happened to his son. It was one of his worst fears. He suddenly felt even more worried about his son. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed his son was okay, "Oh my God, I hope he is okay! Where is he right now?"

"We are taking him to the hospital right now…. And I just called the police about a second before I called you and filled them in on everything I knew…" Chad's voice trailed off.

"Oh God! Okay, we will meet you there right away Chad," Jack's voice trembled as he spoke.

"Okay we will see you there," Chad spoke quickly. They both hung up.

"Laura!" Jack cried out to his wife suddenly, he raced off to find his wife, so he could tell her the good news that their son had finally been found.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Chad sat next to an extremely worried Gabriella in the hospital. He was really worried about Troy himself. Jason and Kelsi sat on the other side of Gabriella.

They were waiting for everyone else to arrive. No one else had gotten there yet.

"I am just so incredibly worried about him," Gabriella was crying as she spoke. Kelsi was holding onto her, "I hate this! Why hasn't Troy woken up yet?" Kelsi looked helplessly at Chad and Jason. Chad sadly gazed back at Kelsi.

He suddenly looked up however as he spotted Taylor and Ryan racing towards them.

"Oh my God, thank goodness both of you are okay!" Taylor cried, as she rushed to her boyfriend. He stood up and they quickly met in a hug.

"Gabriella, I'm glad you're okay" Ryan spoke softly, "You too, Chad."

Sharpay and Zeke were suddenly right behind them. The only ones who weren't here now were the Bolton's.

"How is Troy?" Zeke asked worriedly.

"Yeah how is he? I can't believe that you found him! Thank the lord!" Taylor exclaimed, as she broke away from Chad.

"They won't tell us anything till the Bolton's get here," Chad explained, "I hate that we have to wait to find out how he is."

"I just wish we could find out if he's going to be okay," Gabriella spoke rather shakily, as Sharpay held her.

"I think we're all just so glad that you found him," Sharpay gazed at Gabriella and then at Chad, "That's so amazing that you even did."

"Troy has to be okay," Taylor whispered, as she stood next to Chad.

Chad sighed, "I just wish we knew if he will be."

At that moment Jack and Laura burst in, both of them looking frantic.

"Where is my son?" Jack demanded to know as soon as he entered the room. He immediately noticed everyone and started to move towards them, "I need to see my son now!"

"Oh God, where is my baby?" Laura was crying. It looked like she had been crying for awhile, "Where is my boy?"

"They wouldn't tell us anything until you got here," Chad quickly filled them in.

Jack looked around desperately; he couldn't stand it any longer. He had to know how his son was, "Where can I find someone who knows where Troy is?"

Chad pointed towards a nurse, "Over there." He quickly instructed them.

Jack immediately went that direction, Laura following him closely behind. They moved there way closer towards the nurse, they were very anxious to finally get answers on the condition of their son.

They both desperately had to know if their son was going to be okay.

* * *

Gabriella was sitting next to Troy's hospital bed. She was finally getting the chance to see him. Jack and Laura had been in for quite awhile then they had allowed her to come in and visit with him. The rest of the group had not seen him yet though.

The worst of his injuries were a couple of bruised ribs. But the doctor had told them that Troy should be okay.

More than anything she wanted him to just wake up. She had been worried about him for so long and she just wanted to be absolutely sure that he was okay.

She closed her eyes and began to pray for him.

"Gabriella," she could suddenly hear a familiar soft voice say her name.

Her eyes grew wide as she heard his voice. Suddenly a huge smile formed on her face.

She looked up to see that he was finally awake and his eyes were looking back at her.


	14. Chapter 14

Longing To Break Free

Chapter 14

"Troy!" Gabriella's eyes lit up as she saw that he was finally awake, "Oh, thank goodness!"

All of a sudden Gabriella had her arms wrapped around Troy and she held him gently. She slowly pulled away after a long while, but he stopped her.

"Gabriella, wait," he breathed, before he pulled her closer to him and they finally kissed. They shared an extremely long kiss before Gabriella finally broke away and looked at him.

"I missed that," Troy whispered, "And I really missed you. I was so afraid we'd never see each other again."

"I was so afraid I'd never see you again. I'm just so thankful that we found you," Gabriella then took his hand and held it. She looked at him.

He moaned, and started to look more around the hospital room, "What happened?"

"Troy, you passed out after we got out of the house. Jason and Kelsi found us and we brought you here to the hospital. Chad called the police and everyone else. They are all here worrying about you," She filled him in on what had happened, she looked into his eyes the entire time, "And you had me so incredibly worried. I am so glad you woke up finally. How are you feeling?"

"I admit that I'm not feeling the greatest right now. I've been better," Troy responded, as he winced in pain.

Gabriella looked worriedly at him.

"Did you say everyone else is outside?" Troy asked.

Gabriella stood up then, "You know I should really go find your doctor and tell everyone else that-"

Suddenly Jack and Laura stepped in, interrupting Gabriella. Troy looked up at them, he felt happy to see them.

"Mom, Dad, I- " he was interrupted by his mother as she was suddenly hugging him.

"Oh my baby! " Laura gasped; tears were falling from her eyes like crazy, "Oh my god! She cried as she held her son, and kissed the top of his head, "I'm so happy they found you! You had us beyond worried. Oh my sweet boy!"

"Son!" Jack's eyes widened, he looked rather relieved as he looked at Troy, and he raced over to him, "Thank God!" he held onto him for what felt like forever. It was as if he never wanted to let his son go, "We have been so extremely worried son. Oh my God, we love you so much!"

"I love you both to," Troy was now crying as he hugged his father.

Gabriella then stepped out of the room so they could spend sometime alone with their son for awhile.

* * *

Jack and Troy were alone in Troy's hospital room for a few minutes, as Laura had gone off to take care of stuff.

"Troy, I just wish more than anything that none of this had happened to you. I hate that it has." Jack told him as he sat in a chair next to his bed, "I wish I could have kept you safe during all of it."

"Dad its okay, I wish it hadn't happened either, but I survived it," Troy softly told him.

"But you shouldn't of had to gone through that," Jack frowned. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, "Troy, there is something you should know."

"What?" Troy looked at his father, curiously.

"The police figured out who it was who kidnapped you," Jack quickly told him.

Troy stared at his father, feeling very anxious to know the name of who kidnapped him. He desperately needed some answers, "Who?" he questioned. He breathed deeply.

Jack took a deep breath, "His name is Trevor Mitchell. He was on the West High basketball team while I was in high school and we used to actually be friends somewhat. He eventually grew to hate me and I never knew exactly why. I haven't seen him in a long time."

He kept repeating the name in his mind over and over as his father spoke. It felt strange finally knowing the name.

"Why would he- " Troy started to ask, but stopped as his father started talking again.

"I am not exactly sure why he would come back years later to kidnap you. To get to me for some reason I suppose. He has clearly gotten to be crazy if he would kidnap you. I am so sorry he did. I hate that he did."

"Anything else?" Troy asked in a shaky tone.

"There's something else that you really need to know," Jack took another deep breath, and the next thing he said caused his son to tremble, "I hate to tell you this son, but he got away."

* * *

Troy looked up to see all of his friends come in at once. Gabriella was leading the way.

"I finally get to bring most of your fan club in," Gabriella teased, as she wandered closer to him, "They have all been anxious to see you for quite awhile." She kissed him lightly on the forehead, but then moved away so others could see him.

"Hey guys!" he looked around and spotted Chad, Jason, Zeke, Ryan, Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi all around him. It felt so good to be able to see everyone.

"Man, it's good to have you back!" Chad leaned over to hug Troy, and then he sat down next to him on the chair.

"Yeah I'm so happy to have you back!" Taylor exclaimed as she hugged Troy as well, "We have been so concerned about you!"

"Hey Troy!" Kelsi was soon hugging him, "Oh, I am so glad your okay."

Everyone else got there chance to give Troy a hug and they were soon all hanging around him. Chad, Jason, and Sharpay all sat in chairs, Gabriella sat on the edge of the bed, and the others stood.

"So what did I miss while I was gone?" Troy asked as he looked at all of friends who were smiling at him. He suddenly looked at Chad as he remembered, "Chad, I'm so sorry I never made it to your party, were you surprised?"

Chad laughed, "Yeah," he then paused and gave Troy a look, "But I spent most of that night worrying about you."

"I'm sorry I made you all worry so much about me," Troy softly spoke, "I hated that I made you all do that."

"There is no reason for you to feel sorry Troy," Chad smiled, "At least now we have you back!"

"That is so awesome that we have you back!" Jason smiled.

"We'll just have to have a party for you Troy once your feeling up to it," Taylor suggested suddenly, she looked at everyone in the room, "Everyone's invited!"

"Oh I can't wait!" Sharpay went, "Something tells me it will be interesting!"

Troy found himself smiling as he looked around his group of friends.

He felt safe and loved being here with them.

This moment just felt so good. It felt so good to be free and back where he belonged.

Suddenly his smile turned into a frown.

With his kidnapper still out there, he was just so afraid that this feeling wouldn't last.

* * *

Thank you everyone for the reviews! I am loving them! Possibly just a couple more chapters left. can't decide if i want to do a sequel or not.


	15. Chapter 15

Well, here is the last chapter! Thank you all SO much for all of the reviews for this story! And thanks for reading!

Longing To Break Free

Chapter 15

Three Months Later

"Troy, did you get any sleep at all last night?" Gabriella asked him worriedly as he had looking very worn out all day. Right now he was sitting on the porch swing, gazing up at the night sky. She quickly wandered over to join him and sat down by him.

"Not really," Troy softly whispered, as he turned to look at her, "I guess I am a little tired."

Gabriella frowned; she looked seriously at him, "Was it the nightmares again?" Very shortly after the kidnapping he had started having nightmares. They went away for awhile but now seemed to be returning. It made her really worried about him.

"Were they about him?" She asked another question softly. Troy never really said what the nightmares were about, as he couldn't really remember what they were about after he woke up.

Troy remained quiet and didn't respond. She sighed as she gently leaned against him and buried her face against him for awhile.

"When's the next time you see your therapist?" she asked, breaking the silence that had been going on for awhile. He had started seeing a therapist almost right away. He still saw his therapist occasionally but Gabriella couldn't remember the last time he did.

"Not for a couple more days," Troy answered, "Could we please just try and forget about this for awhile? I'm sorry but I've been thinking about this so much recently and I'm just trying to forget about everything for right now," he gazed over at Gabriella, "Besides, you know what helps me feel better the most?"

"What's that?" Gabriella asked with a small smile.

"Being with you," Troy answered as he gazed at her with a smile on his face, "Being with you makes everything better."

"Well it's a good thing I've been around so much lately," she leaned over to give him a soft, gentle kiss.

She really had been around him a lot more lately. Troy pretty much hated being alone since his kidnapper was still out there on the loose. Troy and Gabriella spent nearly all their time together and were only apart unless they absolutely had to be. They had both gotten really protective of each other.

"Oh Troy look!" She cried, breaking from the kiss suddenly, "A shooting star! We have to make a wish!"

They both looked up at the sky and they then closed there eyes as they made a wish.

Gabriella opened her eyes and looked up at Troy who was looking back at her, "Let's just hope our wishes come true."

"Yes, I hope they do come true," Troy looked deep into her eyes as he spoke to her.

He suddenly glanced back at the house, "Come on, let's go back inside. It's cold out here. Let's go in and warm up."

She nodded as she followed him back in the house.

* * *

"Oh, I hear my cell phone ringing in the other room," Troy realized as he stood in the living room with Gabriella.

She smiled at him, "Well you better go get that."

Troy nodded, "I will go do that. How about you pick out a movie for us while I go and get my phone? We'll just relax and watch a movie for the rest of the night. Sound good?"

"That sounds heavenly," Gabriella smiled.

He smiled at her, and immediately left to go get his phone. A few seconds later he found his phone on the kitchen counter, it was still ringing. He reached over to pick it up and answered it.

"Hey, man!" he could hear Chad's voice suddenly.

"Chad? Hey!" he leaned against the counter as he spoke, "What's up?"

"Taylor and I were just wondering if we could come over in a couple of hours or so, we were just looking for something to do and thought we'd check to see if you wanted to hang out," Chad explained.

Troy frowned, but he nodded. He was looking forward to just being with Gabriella but he didn't mind having his friends come over later, "That would be fine. Gabriella is over right now and we'll both be here later."

"That sounds great! See you then!" Chad exclaimed.

"Bye Chad! See you later!" He quickly hung up.

He started to head back towards the living room, anxious to get back to Gabriella.

Suddenly however he felt someone grab him from behind and he could feel an extremely rough hand cover his mouth. He suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe as he started to realize who it was that had grabbed him. Panic started to rush through him like crazy. His whole body shook with fear. He tried to scream out loud but couldn't.

Oh God, please no! Not again. Not again. Please no! This nightmare wasn't becoming a reality. This couldn't be happening to him again. Oh please not again! Oh God, no!

"I must say," he heard a chillingly familiar voice say behind him, the voice that had been dreading to hear for three months, hearing it behind him sent chills down his spine, "It has been far to long since we were last together, Troy."

* * *

"Troy, seriously, where did you go?" She was looking around for him frantically, as she was starting to get really worried because she couldn't find him. It had been awhile since he had left to find his cell phone and he hadn't returned. The quiet atmosphere was also starting to bother her.

Before she knew it she suddenly felt a hand covering her mouth, catching her completely by surprise. She flinched as she felt a gun being pressed against her.

"TROY!" She tried to desperately scream out Troy's name but to her disappointment it came out muffled.

Troy's kidnapper, Trevor Mitchell laughed evilly behind her, and she felt a wave of terror rush through her, "Oh don't worry, I already have him again. I have him right where I want him."

Her eyes grew wide with fear as she realized what he just said. Oh God. Oh God. He had Troy again. NO! Suddenly she felt so afraid for Troy. What the hell had Trevor done to him? She had to know what he had done to him. It was killing her that she didn't know. Oh God, what had he done to her Troy?

"Yes that's right, I have him again," Trevor laughed again, "But this time, my beautiful, you will be joining us. Oh, the three of us will have so much fun!"

No, no, no, no! She wanted to scream as loud as she could but couldn't. This couldn't be happening. Oh God, It just couldn't be happening.

"NO!" She managed to scream out.

She then closed her eyes shut, terrified as he dragged her away from the house and into the night.

The End

* * *

Yes, there is a sequel to follow this! I wouldn't leave you there. I am not sure when it will come out, still need to think of a title. But it will hopefully be out soon!


	16. sequel

Hi all! The sequel for this story has been posted. It is called, "Fighting This Together." Hope you enjoy!


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